


Lightning In A Bottle

by AnkleWeights



Category: Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Fairy Tale)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Drama & Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fairy Tale Retellings, Hurt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:01:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23028994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnkleWeights/pseuds/AnkleWeights
Summary: The story of Goldilocks has been incorrectly told since its inception in 1837. This is what actually happened. (This was a dare from a friend that I got very carried away with. Also she's 28 in this iteration).
Relationships: Goldilocks/Papa Bear
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9





	Lightning In A Bottle

At this point in time, it’s presumably safe to say that “Goldilocks” is a household name. It’s a story that’s been told and retold across the world with slight variations on the folklore depending on a number of factors. Sometimes she’s a bright-eyed, little girl who wanders mindlessly where she ought not to. On other occasions, she’s a cantankerous old woman who gets devoured for her hubris. Both of these iterations are extremes of the same lie. No, when Goldilocks made her now famous (or infamous) trek into the woods that day, she was actually 28 years old. She was certainly a little irrational, but not entirely mindless. She could be found in a mean streak once in a while, but she was never entirely immoral. Well, the closest she got to that was actually during the day of her life that’s now been reworked into what is known now. 

To make things short, this introduction precedes Goldilocks’  **actual** bear encounter. Only three truths will seem familiar. 1: It  **does** begin with her wandering the woods. Why? That’s unknown. Perhaps a daily jaunt. Maybe an attempt to shake her mind of something that had been plaguing her the same way others do. 2: She  **does** casually and unlawfully enter a house that isn’t her own. Again, it’s unknown what spurred this jaded approach towards such a thing. 3: She **does** get eaten by a bear. Although in a completely different way than what the populace is used to. 

This narrative is still a bit lengthy, but for the sake of some kind of brevity, it will drop in right when Goldilocks was about to enter the bears’ home. She wandered the woods. She spotted a house. She approached it. Then it was this.

  


☆

  


Goldilocks spies the address on the side of the door.  **123 Bear Way** . 

“Are you serious? 123 Bear Way? I didn’t realize nursery rhyme addresses like that really exist. If bears live here that’s real original guys”. She offers these thoughts to herself as she shakes the doorknob to see if it’s open. It is, so she waltzes right in. 

“Hey! Bear-people in here?”

…

No answer, so she continues on her merry way throughout the house. 

“Damn, nice place” she says aloud to herself. “This has got to be a family’s house. Shit’s huge and there’s way too much stuff in here for one person. Oh wait”. She spies a collection of framed photographs on the brick mantle of the fireplace. Not deciding to give up invasions of privacy now, she picks one up for closer inspection. In it she sees the family dynamic she already suspected was inhabiting the space she’s currently trespassing in. It was indeed a family of bear-people. One father, one mother, one son.

“Alright so this is or was a bearson home. That’s actually kind of cool since I don’t see too many of them out here. I’ve heard they’re usually more Eastward. Damn, daddy bear is looking shredded though. I probably wouldn’t mind bear-backing that”. She laughs to herself at her own pun. “I wonder what he drinks”. And with that she was off to the kitchen.

“Okay so bears like the new craft beer craze. I know that now”. She stated plainly as she scoured through an ocean of chilled IPA’s. She took one with an interesting name and popped off the top…….and then another…….and before she knew it her world was ever so slightly more tilted than it was before. 

“Yikes. Getting tipsy in a bear house. For all I know this might not even be inhabited. Or maybe they’re on vacation. I don’t know how long I’ve been here but if they’re not back yet they probably won’t be back for a while. Also probably wouldn’t mind if I take a nap for a hot minute right? I assume beds are upstairs”. 

And that’s where she headed. Slowly ascending the staircase, only tripping up a little once, she found a set of bedrooms. She surveyed each one.

“Okay, judging by the decor, that’s the kid’s room. Not sleeping in a kid’s bed. I have  _ some _ kind of standard right now”. She moved further down the hall, past a bathroom to reach a much larger room. “Oof, now  **that’s** a king bear sized bed”. She entered what she correctly assumed to be the parent’s room and took a load off right there.

“Damn if I knew bears slept this comfy I would have broken into one of their houses a while ago. Hmm. I wonder how many times mama and papa fucked in this bed. Thinking that the kid is asleep but he’s actually hearing it and getting mental scars. Hm. I wonder what that’s like. Big, furry, bear fucking. Probably awesome. Guess I’ll never know”. 

And with that she drifted off to sleep. How long? That’s not certain. But she would definitely be woken up considerably less peacefully than how she fell asleep. 

  


☆

  


“Hey I said wake the fuck up!! I know you can fucking hear me!!”

“Dear, please not in front of Jeremy”

“Then get him out of the fucking room! This bitch broke in, drank my beer, and now she’s sleeping in my fucking bed!”

“Jeremy, please just go outside for a bit”.

“What’s dad gonna do?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not your problem just please wait outside!”

_ Whoah Jesus what’s going on?  _ Goldilocks’ thoughts came back as she finally managed to get her eyes open and stare down the scene she’d been half-hearing. 

_ Ah piss they’re back.  _

“Oh hey finally awake huh? Now you can see me fuckin kill ya!” Papa sarcastically shouted. 

_ Oh man why does  _ _ that _ _ turn me on? _

“Oh honestly Adrian, you take after your father” Mama retorted. 

“Tell you what Jasmine, you don’t like how I handle things then take Jeremy out to the park or something for half an hour and everything’ll be dandy when you’re back eh?”

_ I like where this is going. _

“I think I actually  **will** . I don’t care how you maim her, just please clean up after yourself”. The mama bear, now known as Jasmine, took a second to glare condescendingly at Goldie. “You dumb bitch”. With that, Jasmine went downstairs and presumably out and about with the young bear again as was discussed. 

_ Yeah bye mama twat. Geez finally. Maybe it’s my dry spell but I’m seriously strangely in a horny mood right now. Well Goldie, let’s cross “Bear” off your hitlist. _

“Alright broad it’s just you and me now” Papa, now known to be named Adrian, threatened extending his claws and directing his gaze back at the haphazard woman sprawled across his sleeping quarters.

“Fuck yeah sounds good” Goldie managed to splurt out through a cleared throat and recovering consciousness. 

“Oh you talking shit now? Trying to get eaten slowly huh?” Said Adrian almost through a laugh.

“Nice, glad we’re on the same page” Goldilocks responded slowly lifting her skirt.

“Whoah hey the fuck are you doing? Oh Christ no that’s not what I meant. That’s not what I’m trying to do here” Adrian retracted his claws through sheer surprise. This is definitely not how this has gone before

“I broke into your house thouuuugh. Daddy bear isn’t gonna punish me anymore? Oops there must be a draft in here my skirt won’t stay down. Can you tell how cold I am?” On those last words, Goldie deepened her voice slightly and puffed out her chest which was already barely contained by her tight fitting top. There was quite clearly no bra underneath. 

“Jesus, how many of my drinks did you have? Do you actually know what’s going on right now?” By this point, Adrian was so befuddled by what was unfolding before him that even  **he** was forgetting what was supposed to be going on right now. 

“Hey I’m no lightweight. I got all my wits about me. And what I know is that I’m feeling weirdly experimental and horny today, you’re banging as hell, and your mean wife and kid are gonna be gone for a while. So you wanna just have a meal or do you wanna have a great goddamn fuck? Damn look at you there. Shit”. With each sentence, she made herself ever more provocative. First, the removal of her skirt completely. Then the slow running of her hands forcefully across her own breasts. She completed her show with the calm spreading of her legs before this formerly angry stranger in front of her. “And don’t try to deny anything because I can see you’re already agreeing with me”

Sure enough she was referring to the bulge that had been slowly forming itself in Adrian’s pants. He responded in the softest tone he’d used in this entire encounter. His gaze was aimed at the floor between them as he spoke. 

“Jasmine never talks to me that way anymore. Not since Jeremy was born”. He once again locked eyes with Goldie. “Shit”. 

“Well Jasmine sounds pretty fucked up” Goldilocks quickly stated in return.

In lieu of responding back, Adrian started moving closer to the bed and undoing his belt. He moved with such a precise pace it was as if he was being controlled by someone else. He threw his pants on the floor beside him to reveal the full glory of what Goldilocks was hoping for. 

“Oh fuck that’s even better than I thought” She unknowingly began sliding one hand down her midsection while the other rested atop her right breast. Adrian moved forward and started climbing into the bed. He positioned himself over her so that her knees were between his. Then he started resting down atop her as he leaned his face in close to hers. 

“Alright. This is gonna happen. You get the fuck out of here and don’t ever come back again”. Adrian stated calmly but sternly.

“We’ll see how you feel after” She joked. And maybe it was alcohol recovery, or just the heat of the moment, but she could have sworn she saw him stifle a chuckle. 

Immediately, the two simultaneously joined their mouths together as if a starting gun had been fired to commence the event. The lashing of their tongues was a display of pure lust that could have almost been seen as violent in nature. Goldilocks moaned into Adrian’s mouth in surprise as he suddenly laid a firm paw on her left breast and started tenderly groping it. This was while he traced lines up and down her right side with his right paw, becoming familiar with each curve of her form. She lifted a leg up, almost automatically, as he felt down below her right thigh. He firmly landed a smack on her ass that caused another muffled moan to escape her. 

Goldilocks moved her hand that was cradling the back of his head over to feel his toned chest briefly before sliding it down to the throbbing member that she could feel was tantalizingly close to where her own wetness was growing. She wrapped her palm around and slowly started shifting up and down. She could feel it growing ever harder with each movement of her wrist. She broke the contract their mouths were sealing for a moment to stare Adrian in the eyes. While still having hold of his proudest asset, she spoke to him with an almost ordering tone.

“I want this thing in my fucking face”

“No need to ask twice” Adrian responded with a crooked smirk. He leaned up onto his knees like before so that he was now towering over her. He reached his right paw down and ripped open the buttons of her top. One or two could be heard scattering to the other side of the room. Goldilocks let out a small gasp that was one part surprise, one part excitement. With an apparent quickness, Adrian moved himself up her revealed body so that his knees were now under both of her arms with his erect being sitting between her breasts. 

Without instruction, she moved her face forward and engulfed him into her mouth. She started bobbing her head up and down his cock while utilizing both hands to work the lower shaft. Adrian put one of his own paws on the back of her head and burrowed it into the jungle of yellow curls being thrown back and forth erratically. 

“Fuck” was all that escaped from Adrian in the pleasure being inflicted upon him. This wasn’t unnoticed, and Goldilocks quickened her pace in return for the positive reinforcement. Her tongue wrapped all around him in an impressive performance. She hastened the working of her right hand while her left moved down to massage what was holding the future prize for her efforts. 

_ Damn, Jasmine never touches those. This woman is something else.  _ Adrian couldn’t help but think to himself. This would be his last thought for a while as his conscious mind began fading away into the growing sensations overtaking his body. 

Goldilocks popped him out of her mouth for a moment but didn’t lessen the speed of her jerking hand. She looked right up and him and she spoke quietly but forcefully. “Come on daddy bear. I’ve been so fucking bad. I broke into your house. I drank and slept in your bed. Don’t you wanna punish me for that? Punish me with a big fucking load right in this dirty mouth? Oh please” And with that she went back to swallowing much more of him than Adrian initially thought she was capable of. She could feel herself tingling with each thrust of her mouth. Adrian felt a growing tension rising in himself that wouldn’t be contained for much longer. He now grabbed her head with both paws and rocked his hips in tandem with her head’s movements. 

Muted sounds of slobbering could be heard as Goldie kept sucking him up and down. Jerking a little faster. Massaging a little firmer. All this continuously increasing until she felt a very familiar sensation giving heed to what was about to arrive. She moved her mouth up and started making forceful circles around his tip with her tongue. “Come on, ruin this pretty face” she was able to whisper before continuing her onslaught of licking accompanied by all she was doing before.

After what could have been seconds or minutes, Adrian uncontrollably obliged. He felt a burst he hadn’t felt since who knows how long. He shivered all over as he painted the inside of Goldie’s mouth. She pulled him out and tilted his cock up so that some of his emission could find it’s home on her cheeks and between her shimmering blue eyes. 

“Oh god that’s it” she stated in quivers of pleasure, almost arriving to where Adrian was just from the display she was experiencing. She worked out the last of what he had to offer on her pursed lips and licked them clean, making sure to give some final sucks to him as well to make sure he was cleaned out. She allowed her head to collapse on the pillows behind her and let out a short sigh. She stared up at the ceiling and spoke:

“Shit. That was pretty good. I could honestly go again if it wasn’t quite obvious the party was over”. She accompanied the last notion with gesturing of her hand to the drops of ejaculate remaining on her face from moments before. 

“You’ve clearly never fucked a bear before. Does the party look over to you?”

Sure enough Goldilocks raised herself up as if doing a crunch, propping up on her elbows, to become face to face with the still hardened shaft inches away from her. She casually gave it a couple playful taps. 

“Huh. Well damn look at that. So there’s still some juice left?”

“Don’t say it like that and yes. At least one or two more”.

“How much time do we have left?”

“Enough. Definitely enough.”

“Have you been fucking all the people that show up in your house? How do you know?”

“No, typically I kill burglars. Remember when that was the plan? But trust me, we have time. We’re also gonna switch things up a bit for this one though”.

With that he began shifting so that he was once again laying over her. Her outstretched legs tucked between his. Her upper body nestled between his toned forearms that he was using for support. He stared into her eyes for only a moment and placed a paw to the right side of her face. She rested into it as if they’d practiced this several times over. This was her first time noticing that, if it weren’t for the slight, soft fuzz to his palm and digits, it could almost feel like a human was holding her. She felt comfortable. Almost to the point that it was scaring her. 

He began trailing kisses along the left side of her neck while tracing circles around her left areola with his left thumb. Every few rotations would include a small press on her nipple that came with Goldilocks emitting a stifled sound of pleasure through pressed lips. How this man that seemed so barbaric less than an hour ago could handle her so sensually now was a fantastic mystery she had no interest in solving. What she knew for certain was that she craved so much more in this moment. 

As if reading her mind, Adrian started sliding his paw off her face, slowly running it down the side of her body before bringing it back up to cup and knead her currently unattended breast. At the same moment, he began lowering his pecks from her neck down to her collarbone. He stopped only for a moment to give a faint nibble. Not enough to cause pain, but just enough to cause Goldilocks to take in a small sudden breath and grow her anticipation for whatever was coming next. Adrian continued to his first stop, his lips now between the objects of his hands’ fixation. He smoothly gave a small lick to the side of her right breast before gliding his paw off of it and under her upper back, raising her to his mouth. 

“Ohhh” was all she managed to get out as he started applying a mixture of hard and light circles with his tongue to her now erect nipple. His mouth was rising and dropping firmly on top of it. His left paw was still tending to her left side, now pinching its counterpart between his thumb and index finger. All while his right hand still remained under her, rubbing her back every so often. After a little while, he switched the side his mouth was on and gave the mirrored treatment to her left breast. Both of Goldie’s hands were already grasping at the back of Adrian’s head, clenching and releasing his dark fur in response to what he was bringing upon her. 

_ Didn’t this guy say it’s been years since he’s done this? If this is out of practice I don’t know if I could handle him when he’s up to date.  _ She couldn’t help but think to herself. 

At that moment, Adrian began the process of lowering his kisses yet again. This time moving with more of a sense of urgency, but still drawing things out just enough for Goldilocks’ suspense to build. Finally, he reached the center of her desire. Adrian offered a few more kisses and nips at her inner right thigh before he carefully raised each of her legs over his powerful shoulders. He pressed his tongue deep inside of her with an uncharacteristic lack of a prolonged wait for it.

“Ohh fuck. Ahh.” She clenched onto the bedsheets on both sides of her in affirmation of the effectiveness of this decision. Her reaction was noted by Adrian and filled him with a sense of pride. For reasons he didn’t understand, he truly wanted to make this stranger feel good. He brushed it from his mind and just continued what he was doing with added intensity. 

Lashing all around, his tongue became familiar with every inch inside of her. His explorations were supported by a series of rhythmic spanks he laid upon her. Each contact eliciting an ever so slightly louder vocal response. With no warning, Adrian receded and took his oratory adventure slightly north to her pulsating clit. With a well orchestrated quickness, as his tongue retired to this new location, his forefinger slipped right into the vacant position. He lapped around her most sensitive part in tight, unyielding, rings as his finger descended deep into her. 

“shitshitshitChrist ahhh fuck.” Nearly humorous fragments of a thought that still conveyed their intended meaning quietly spilled out of Goldie’s mouth. Her right hand inadvertently loosened its fistful of satin and instead gripped firmly on the silken back of Adrian’s head. Her left found a new home handling her ever-tender breast. Again, a thought rung out from the last remaining stream of awareness her conscious mind could fathom.

_ Jesus Christ, the only thing that could make this better is if he- _

Adrian finished her thought for her, or at least his hand began to. He repositioned it so that as his index finger was still continuing its onslaught, but now his thumb moved in for the bullseye right below.

_ FUCK _

Goldilocks’ legs moved of their own will, shifting around his neck and untensing to allow an easier entry. And enter he did. His thumb carefully prodded on the surface of her asshole until it was able to slip slightly in. It moved in congruence with his finger and tongue to create the perfect harmony. 

_Fuck this is too good! How did he know? Do women into anal give off some unknown vibe??_ _I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna last!_

“Adrian you’re-ohhh ahhhhh~”

Words were failing her, but her body wasn’t. And neither was Adrian’s. Once again he displayed his physical prowess. He steadily used his left paw to clasp her legs that were wrapped around his neck so as to keep them solidly hooked there. Then, in one motion, he elevated his upper body so that he was now upright, on his knees. All without disconnecting any part of him from any part of her. Goldie’s upper back and head were the only parts of her still touching the bed’s surface. He burrowed his face ever deeper between her thighs, relentlessly sucking and licking on her clitoris while his paw got to know her on the most personal level. 

Goldilocks threw one of her arms over her flushed face. She released a regulated slew of heavy breaths and high pitched moans into her sleeve. She blindly found Adrian again with the other hand and started massaging his cock to the beat of his tongue inside her. Her legs’ grip tightened around him. Her hips pressed against his face as if disconnecting meant certain death. Her hands slammed onto the bed around her before uncontrollably running themselves up her body. 

“I’m so close! FUCK!” Goldilocks managed to get out.

But Adrian still had time to exhibit one more trick before the show was over. He used Goldie’s announcement as a signal to quickly, but still so carefully, reposition her one more time. In what must have been five seconds or so, he performed the following. He concurrently retracted his right paw from inside her, placed it under her lower back for support, released her legs from the control of his left, and gripped both sides of her hips sturdily with his newly free paws while he lowered her spread legs onto his lap. In what appeared to be one expertly executed motion, Adrian pushed himself inside of her as he lifted her upper body so that she was now sitting comfortably upright on his cock. 

It all happened so fast but Goldie didn’t show any need for an explanation. She wrapped her arms around Adrian and he did the same with her. They locked into an agreed time signature of thrusts while her head nuzzled into his broad shoulder. On they went like this for an unknown amount of moments until Goldie interrupted the unbroken chain of moans and groans with intelligible words. 

“Adrian.. _ ahhh _ ...I’m gonna... _ ohhh _ ”

“Me too” He somehow managed to respond between his own labored breaths. 

They took this established mutual experience as an unspoken agreement to bring their mouths together in the most passionate kiss seen that day, their hands finding their way to the back of each other’s heads. Their pace quickened, their arms’ holds on each other tightened, and the big moment arrived. Adrian gave one final prod into Goldie. She gave one final drop onto him. Her legs tightened around his waist as she began shaking at the sensation of her powerful orgasm combined with the warmness filling her. Adrian’s arms latched onto Goldilocks as if protecting her from some unseen threat. 

_ “Ohhhhhhh~” _

_ “Ohhhhhhh~” _

Together, the same low register of ecstasy escaped from the pit of their beings, into each other’s mouths. They could not think, only feel. And the feeling was incredible. If it was ever felt before by either of them, it hadn’t occurred in recent memory. Together their bodies tensed and began to relax. As their climax moved forward into its falling action, they delicately collapsed back onto the bed under them; Adrian extending an arm to make their fall more effortless. 

There they laid silently for a bit with their eyes closed. Still wrapped in each other’s arms, regulating their breathing. Goldilocks was the first to speak.

“That was….Oh wow. I mean…..wow you know?”

“Yeah”. Adrian now opened his eyes to complete his thought “I know what you mean”. His words were accompanied by the smallest chuckle. 

Him and Goldie stared at each other in another instance of silence. It was short in reality, but long enough to feel…..something. Something strange. Again, Goldilocks broke the silence with an awkward interjection. 

“Uh. Your wife is probably coming back now”.

“What? Right! Shit!” Adrian pushed himself up and out of the bed. He hastily started putting his clothes back on with his back facing Goldie. 

“You get dressed too! She’ll be back soon!” He spoke with the first instance of unbalance that had been witnessed today. Goldilocks buttoned back up what buttons remained on her top as she spoke with a not well hidden anxiety.

“Did uh...did you just forget you had a wife..dude?”

Adrian responded with a tone that slightly better shielded his worries while still not turning to face her. He haphazardly pulled up his pants.

“What? What are you talking about? No. Just focus on getting dressed and getting out of here fast”.

“I….okay. Yeah”. Goldilocks returned to getting the rest of her clothes on, her thought remaining unexpressed. 

☆

“ _ Gonna be back later than expected. Maybe around 4. Decided to do some shopping. You could take the extra time to finally do the fucking laundry and dishes?” _

Adrian read aloud a text from Jasmine that had arrived not ten minutes ago. By now he was fully dressed again. So was Goldilocks, who still remained sitting on the edge of the bed. She was doing nothing but listening to the message being dictated to her.

“Heh. Guess we were worried for nothing” Adrian said after finishing.

“Yeah. Shame. Probably could have even thrown in something extra maybe”. Goldie’s response matched what she had shown her personality to be throughout the day, but now her demeanor was giving off something different. Her words were a little more flat. Still, she continued to talk.

“Okay so that’s, like, another hour you have to clean things up?”

“Just about, yeah. Here get off the bed so I can make it”. 

Goldilocks got up with no vocal confirmation of hearing the order. She walked over to the doorway but didn’t exit. She stared out of it for a moment before turning around. Now she just stood there and watched Adrian make the bed. No thoughts were in her mind. Or maybe there were so many that no one could be singled out over the cacophony. What **_was_** this? She’d had one night stands before. She’d had hook-ups for every reason someone could have one. But with every one of those instances, she had no problem leaving. She couldn’t leave fast enough for most. But now, for some reason, in this situation where leaving quickly had actual stakes, she couldn’t. 

“Alright, there we go. Maybe she’ll say I actually did a good job this time”. Adrian spoke to himself as he finished tucking in the last sheet. He turned around to see the deer-in-headlights stature of Goldilocks remaining in the room. It slightly caught him off guard.

“Whoah. Geez, I thought you left already. You’re quieter than I thought. What are you still doing here?”

“My name is Goldilocks”. She plainly answered a question he didn’t ask.

“I..Okay”. For what was maybe the fourth or fifth time today, this woman had Adrian temporarily dumbfounded. 

“Your wife is really mean. I don’t know much I guess. But I saw her earlier. And the stuff you say about her. She seems really...mean”. Again, she sent out a train of thought that seemed to arrive from nowhere in particular.

“Wha...You. What are you saying?”

“Have you actually killed anyone that’s trespassed in your home? I believe you that you don’t fuck them, but I don’t think you kill them either. I think you let them go but you lie so Jas-your wife won’t get mad. I’ve slept with some dangerous guys that might have actually killed people or that would do it if they had the chance. They weren’t like you. They didn’t make the bed after I got up. They didn’t touch me the way you do. They didn’t make me feel the….they. They didn’t...weren’t like you. Why is she mean to you?” 

The air was thick by the end of her impromptu speech. Adrian could do nothing but stare back at her, his mouth mildly agape. There they remained for a moment as if frozen in some abstract painting. This time, Goldilocks was determined to not break this lapse of conversation. She would wait all day for this response if she had to. Finally, Adrian gave in.

“I think you should go”.   
“No”. Her vacant response came immediately. “Please...please just tell me”.

“Why do you want to-”

“ **Please** ”. This time, the word was attached to a palpable sadness. One that Adrian showed a weakness towards. 

“Okay. No, I’ve never killed anyone. And it’s for why you think. But there’s a lot you don’t know about Jasmine. She’s a good mom to m- our boy. We’ve had good times”.

“ _ Had _ or  _ have _ good times? Are they still good?” Even Goldie in her current confused state felt that might have been too far. 

“What is this right now??” There was a sense of underlying anger from Adrian’s voice this time. “What are you saying? Are you telling me to leave my wife right now? You’re the one that seduced me earlier and now what? Are you trying to get married to me because you fucked me and it was better than normal for you? My marriage might be fucked now and you’re here with these declarations and assumptions about what would make it better?  **_You? Would you make it better?_ ** Is this what you do?!”

Each addition in his onslaught of rhetorical questions cut her deeper and deeper. Her eyes grew wet and her throat began to tighten. She used every bit of her willpower to keep in the flood. She couldn’t be weak now or else she’d never be able to say everything she wanted to. Goldie swallowed hard and deeply inhaled through her nose and out through her mouth. Every instinct in her was begging to step out of the room. Instead she stepped forward, closer to the man who just unleashed his verbal attack.

Adrian almost instinctively began to apologize for his blow-up after noticing its effect on her. “Hey look I’m sor-” 

“No.” Goldilocks interrupted before he could finish. “This isn’t what I  **do** . It’s something I’ve done”. She took a second to finish steadying her voice. “Sometimes I’m ashamed of it. Most times I just don’t care. But right now, with you, something was different and I can’t leave here without addressing it. I felt safe. Here. With you. Adrian”. She said his name as a last minute addition. 

Adrian spoke back to her, having his calmness again.

“Just because my wife is ‘mean’ to me at times doesn’t mean this was right”. 

“I  **know** , I’m not  **saying** that. It wasn’t right to fuck you just because I think you deserve better. I get that. And I’m not asking you to be my ‘boyfriend’ or whatever”. Goldilocks gave that last assertion more to Adrian’s feet than his face. She re-established eye contact as she continued. 

“We don’t have to speak to each other, see each other, you don’t even need to think of me for the rest of your life. But I just need to know if you felt at least the smallest spark of what I felt. Because if you don’t tell me what your end of this was, I’ll go crazy thinking about this forever. That’s all I want..” Like before, Goldie’s conclusion was delivered in addition to her dropping her line of sight to the space between them. 

Adrian didn’t keep her in suspense for long. He let out a sigh and started to talk.

“Okay. Goldilocks”.

Hearing her name emanating from him caused a jump in her heart. She had been focused on few things in her life as much as she was on his face right now; waiting for what he was about to articulate. 

“I’d be lying if...if I said I felt nothing. This wasn’t nothing. It wasn’t right but it wasn’t nothing. There were moments, you could probably tell, that I was thinking similar things as you. It’s all just….so confusing you know? If we’re being honest, it never even felt like this between me and Jasmine when things were at their best. But there’s nothing I can do about it now. I made a commitment to this family. To our boy. I’m...I’m sorry”.

For a final time, Goldilocks did the opposite of what someone ought to do in this situation, and stepped closer to him once more. She was now right in front of him with her arms crossed. She didn’t tilt her head up to meet his eyes. Instead she just rested her head forward, laying her right cheek onto his left shoulder. Adrian had no idea what was the meaning behind this, but he dared not move. 

“It’s okay. Thank you for being honest”. She closed her eyes momentarily. Adrian put an arm around her in what was almost a hug. “Yeah. You’re welcome”. He replied with the tenderness in his voice that Goldie managed to repeatedly pull out of him.

“This feels like it makes sense. For once”. She paused on that thought before going on. “I just kind of wish that...there was some scenario here where we could be friends or something”. Goldilocks whimsically said into his chest.

Adrian rested his head on the top of hers. “That’d be nice”.

“But! I guess I should really be going now!” Goldilocks pulled away from him as suddenly as the change in her voice. It had the kind of happy excitement in it that’s only commanded by people feeling anything but that. She cleared her throat and kept her arms folded together tightly across her chest.

“I hope you have a good life Adrian. Is there a back door or something I can exit through?” She kept up the cheery facade. 

“Um yeah. When you reach the bottom of the stairs, just keep going forward”. He was not nearly as oratorically skilled at subduing the atmosphere from before. 

“Thank you! Don’t forget to do those dishes”. By the time Goldie was at the end of her attempt at humor, she was already out of the room, heading for the staircase. 

“Will do…Goldilocks...shit”. Adrian quietly replied to the empty room. 

Goldilocks found the door he described with ease. She only darted her eyes around the house for a second before rushing out. She didn’t look back as she fast walked to the exit of the forest. The only inkling of emotion on her face was the single tear streaming down her face that refused to be ignored. 

“Fuck” 

She harshley wiped it away on her sleeve, and kept moving forward.

  


☆

  


There Goldilocks sat in her small home six months later. The afternoon sun’s shimmering rays were fighting to make it through her drawn curtains. She sat curled in her favorite chair with a book in hand and tea to her left. The book in question was the binded version of Shakespeare’s  _ The Winter’s Tale _ . She spent a lot of time like this these days. She was anything but a shut-in, but she’d started to take solace in alone time. Time to think. Time to try to make sense of herself and how she wanted to proceed in life. It started as a distraction from the emotion brought on by her meet-up with Adrian, but now it had evolved into a self-sustained activity without connection to its inception. So she read.

“What? Exit, pursued by a bear??” She nearly choked on her tea at the humorous, unexpected stage direction. “Where was the bear? What was Shakespeare doing? Did I miss something?” She skimmed the previous paragraphs to double check. “No I guess not. Surprise bear. Alright”. Just like that, she was caught off guard by a self-inflicted flash back. Her eyes drifted to nowhere in particular before she let out a sigh. The mental intrusion met its end fairly quickly, and she returned to the book. “Those surprise bears will get ya, Antigonus” she playfully warned the character being pursued. 

Just then, her concentration was once again broken. This time, by a few letters sliding through the slot in her front door. “One moment, William” she said to the inanimate play with a dignified tone as she marked her spot and set it down. She knelt by the letters to pick them up in a pile. As she rose again to her feet, she started sifting through them. “Mom and Dad, Advertisement, B-” The third envelope in the stack of four stopped her in her tracks. She knew the return address after only seeing it once before. It was cheesy. It was like something they’d make up for a nursery rhyme. But for her, it was more real than she’d ever be comfortable with.  **123 Bear Way.**

  


  
  


  



End file.
